Love comes in three's
by SaezuruKeisei
Summary: Naruto and Lee have been ordered to take a three week holiday, which it just so happen coincides with the Kazekage's birthday. Stuck in Suna for three weeks things get complicated when Gaara starts to develop "confusing feelings" for both of them. This is YAOI if you dont like please don't read, Flames will be laughed at. Please Review. ON HIATUS! for 2 weeks
1. Chapter 1

*Disclaimer: I own only my own twisted imagination and use it to play with the toys Naruto has developed. If they were mine and I was making money from this stuff the world would be doomed!*

Chapter one –Curiosity

It was hot, too hot to say the least and Naruto was quite sure that he was getting sunburn on his sunburn. Next to him Lee was marching like a trooper with his backpack weighing even more than the one Naruto had packed, soaked in sweat turning his jumpsuit a darker shade of green. How the bowl cut wonder wasn't wilting like he was beyond him.

"Come on Naruto-kun we are not far now!" he said increasing his pace, forcing a groan from Naruto who dragged his feet into a faster pace too match. He couldn't wait to get to Suna. As soon as he was there he was going to have a shower and collapse onto to nearest bed and sleep until it cooled down enough to go outside.

Seeing the walls of the village rising up before them made Naruto smile a little, he enjoyed going to see Gaara and annoy Kankuro, even if that meant avoiding the wrath of Temari every now and then when he let slip a comment that Gaara didn't understand.

He almost laughed out loud when he remembered the time that he had been talking about when he and Sasuke had been forced to kiss in the classroom when some idiot had knocked them into each other. Gaara had been completely perplexed with the idea of what a kiss was meant to accomplish and immediately asked Temari, who at this point chose to enter the room, if she had ever kissed another person and what the point of it was.

The smile quickly fled his face when he remembered that Sasuke was not only gone but never coming home. He missed his first boyfriend, even if their hands had spent more times round the others neck than entwined in the gentle holding of hands.

While he was thinking back over old times, so long ago, he almost ran into the back of Lee. It seemed they had reached the walls of the village. Digging in his pocket he pulled out his I.D. and waited while the guards checked them over for all the normal things. Handing over all the weapons they had on them they were shown into the village by a young man who took them straight to the building in which they would be staying.

The room they were shown was basic, two single beds, two desks, two chairs and one bathroom. They thanked the young man and threw their packs onto the nearest bed to them shortly followed by the two ninja landing heavily on them breathing hard and basking in the relative cool of the indoor space.

"I need a shower…"Naruto moaned from his side of the room.

"Me too, I know this is supposed to be skin tight but this is just ridiculous." Lee pulled the wet Lycra away from his body with a quiet "ugh" of disgust.

"I'm going in first." Naruto sat up and headed for the bathroom. He turned to see Lee following him and was about to tell him to wait his turn when he remembered. This was the desert, if he wanted a shower and Lee wanted a shower they would have to do it at same time, that way they didn't waste so much water. With a sigh both of them entered the bathroom and closed the door.

~X~

Two hours later Lee and Naruto now clean and smelling like daisies where stood awkwardly outside the home of the Kazekage gifts in their hands. They waited patiently for someone to answer the door and let them in and few knocks later revealed Kankuro grinning at them and dragging them inside.

The building had been decorated with garish "Happy Birthdays" including balloons and banners, flags hung from the rafters and over the backs of chairs. Gaara was sitting at the table with a balloon tied around his chair with the words "Birthday Boy" hand written in what appeared to be glitter. He looked far from happy about it all but mostly because he didn't really understand what a birthday party was or why he was having one.

Lee and Naruto walked to the table and sat down with huge smiles and both handed his their gifts at the same time. Gaara simply looked at the packages and then back at the other boys in confusion. Kankuro was on hand to clear up the mess.

"They are gifts, Gaara. You're supposed to open them."

Gaara had until tonight, never had a birthday party. Temari had discovered this only a few days before when she looked in her diary and saw the note 'Gaara birthday', it had struck her that she had never really given him a present, or a cake…or anything…

To compensate for this she had decided to throw a last minute party from her brother. Rushing around driving herself mad and trying to work out what was missing. Not happy with just risking her own mental health she told Kankuro to sort out some guests and to that end invite them to the party.

Kankuro being a little lazy tried to think of people Gaara might actually like or people who liked Gaara. The only names that really fit the bill on both counts where Lee and Naruto. Lee was incapable of hating anyone not directly involved in anything against him or his village and Gaara thought he was a good fighter and respected him. Naruto was a lot like Gaara and Gaara a lot like Naruto and Kankuro suspected that Naruto being at a party for Gaara would please his little brother.

They were the only people invited. When Temari had started yelling at him for being a "lazy good for nothing pain in the ass" because he had only invited two people, he pointed out that a large crowd of people descending on Gaara with confusing statements and loud voices might not be the best of idea's. Gaara may be more in control than ever before but Kankuro for one was not in the mood for pushing his luck. It was his first party and it was probably better to start small and work their way up from there.

Taking the first of the packages, a parcel wrapped in green paper, Gaara ripped it open gently to uncover a simple chain with the kanji for love dangling from it made from gold. Gaara held it up in front of his face the kanji glinting in the light from the lamp in the corner. Temari was watching him leaning against the door frame to the kitchen with a small smile on her face.

"Gaara, you're meant to say thank you." She prompted in a gentle voice

"Thank you." Came the monotonic replay his eyes still fixed on the spinning metal.

"You are most welcome my friend." Lee struck his nice guy pose with started much eye rolling from everyone but Gaara and Lee himself.

"Come on, open mine now." Naruto said putting it down on the polished wood and sliding it towards the Kazekage.

Gaara reached down and picked up the thicker squishier package wrapped in orange paper with cartoon toads hopping all over it. Gaara pulled off the paper and a plushi fell out of the thin paper landing on the table. It appeared to be a nine tailed fox, it was doubtful that the real thing was this cute and cuddly, Naruto could attest to that but he had had it made because it seemed appropriate.

"Thank you." Again the response was emotionless but the body language was filled with confusion, the red haired head tilted to the left appraising the toy. Naruto felt compelled to explain and babbled on about how it was so that Gaara had something to remember him by while they were apart.

The rest of the party was spent in quiet conversation and the meal passed with much complementing of the chef, who it turned out was Temari herself. Gaara was comfortable through the entire night and they were even treated to a rare smile even though it didn't last overly long. The two leaf ninja left after a few hours feeling good about themselves for helping make Gaara's first birthday a success.

"How long did Grandma Tsunade say we have to stay here?" Naruto asked as they flopped onto their beds looking at the ceiling.

"Three weeks." Lee said feeling around for the zip on his jacket. "She said that if we didn't take the whole time to relax and get to know Gaara better and further relations between our two great villages she would personally rip us new ones."

"Yep that sounds about right." Naruto started to undress, "I can't believe I'm being forced to take a holiday."

"Me either…" Lee grinned "It's not like you do any work as it is." A pillow smacked him square in the face and soon they were laughing as they joked and messed around like normal boys their age not having to worry about Ninja training.

As the two oblivious boys where wrestling in their room, outside the window An eye watched them closely.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Sunsceen

Naruto stretched like cat, back cracking as his arms raised themselves into the air lifting the thin sheet away from his body. He poked his head out with a yawn and scratched his head, disappointed by the absence of his sleeping cap. It was far too hot to ware it in Suna, but to looked at one of the bed posts pleased to see it still hanging there.

Lee was already out of bed, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts doing one handed push-ups in the corner of the room counting a steady rhythm of numbers "One hundred and twenty two, one hundred and twenty three…"

"Bushy brows you do realise this is a HOLIDAY." Naruto stressed the word saying it slowly and elongated hoping this might get the point he was trying to make across. "What time did you get up…" He peered over at the clock on the wall which told him it was ten in the morning.

"I couldn't sleep past six." Lee said keeping count in his head, "I didn't want to wake you so I started my morning warm up and let you sleep."

"Your training while you're on Holiday?" Naruto threw the sheet off him and headed for the bowl of cool water and splashed some on his face and soaked the cloth to wash himself off from the heat of the night and cool his skin down. It may only have been morning but it was already getting too hot for him to be comfortable.

"Well I can't really call this training, it's only half of my routine training and I decreased the amount of everything by about 50%." Lee said finishing his last few press ups and walking over to steal the cloth from Naruto.

"Whatever." Naruto pulled on some pants and sat there considering for a moment. "Do you think it's against the rules not to wear a shirt?"

Lee paused in in washing his well-muscled left arm. "Ummm I don't think so."

"Good cos I'm way too hot for covering up." Naruto stood and searched around for his deodorant and sunscreen. Thankfully he hadn't burned before he got here, he was however very nicely tanned and lee found his eyes following the paler lines of Naruto's torso as he leaned over and grabbed the sunscreen bottle and started to rub it into his shoulders and chest.

Putting the cloth down he walked over to his own bed and started looking for a pair of trousers. Tsunade-Sama had forbidden him from wearing his suit around the Sand village just as Naruto was not to ware his normal black and orange.

"You're off duty for god sake. Look like it!" she had said before dismissing them.

Naruto smiled when he noticed that Lee was watching him, he had always had a crush on the bowl-cutted boy since he had lost Sasuke. They had been hanging around each other a lot more and training together, thankfully Lee had gotten over his crush on Sakura while Naruto had been training away from the village.

"Hay Lee…mind getting my back for me?" He looked over his shoulder just in time to see a blush creeping up Lee's neck and had to hide a smile. If the idea made him blush he must be in with some kind of chance right?

Lee turned his face a painted picture of calm as he smiled and held out his hand for the bottle. Naruto gave it to him and turned to face the window at the first touch of Lee's fingers against his shoulder blades. He smiled at the slight tickle of the boys fingers near his spine and he leaned forward to curve his back.

Lee worked methodically but he couldn't help the little slips of his hand down his friends sides and the massage he started to administer as he rubbed the sunscreen into the tanned skin. He was bright red unable to think straight. He knew he was into other guys, something he had discovered when he had seen Kiba and Shino kissing in the forest one day. After he had seen that he couldn't look at girls in the same way again.

Naruto was relaxed greatly by the feel of his muscles being worked by Lee's fingers and couldn't help the happy little sigh that escaped from his lips. Lee was pulled back to the present by the sound he looked at Naruto with a smile playing on his lips.

"Lee…?" Naruto said quietly.

"Yes Naruto-Kun?" His finger faltered in their play against the tanned boy's skin.

"Do you think we will need shirts in a restaurant?" Naruto stood straight and turned with a grin on his face.

"Well I…I would have thought shirts would be more hygienic. Why?" lee looked confused.

"Because I want you to come out with me tonight for a meal or something." Naruto said messing up Lee's hair before bounding out of the door with a shout of "Race you to Gaara's office!"

~X~

Lee won the race hands down, despite Naruto's head start. In fact Lee had to wait five minutes for Naruto to catch up, something that Naruto tried to shrug off even though Lee teased him very gently about it as they climbed the stairs towards Gaara's office where they were expected to have a nice breakfast organised by Temari.

There were two sand Shinobi standing guards at the door to the Kazekage's office. They inspected the youths in front of them with some suspicion as they inspected the Identification, not being used to the leader of the village receiving half-naked ninja at lunch time.

When they were forced to conclude that the two in front of them actually were on the Kazekage's schedule for this time, the taller of the two pushed the door open and waved them through. The leaf ninja walked into the office and looked around with interest.

Potted plants stood by the windows; the large desk in front of it was covered in papers and scrolls and also, most probably put there by Temari, a large crystal bowl filled with fresh fruit. The walls where covered in historical artefacts and shelves which held more files and important documents.

Gaara was sitting behind his desk, aquamarine eyes skimming over the black line going up and down the scroll. He looked up without his expression changing as he watched the two shinobi looking around. Rolling up the scroll he had been reading, he lean back watching them eyes following one then the other.

"Wow Gaara your office is huge!" Naruto said landing into a chair on the other side of his desk.

"It is an adequate space." Gaara said still watching Lee who was inspecting a vase on one of the shelves.

Naruto picked up a red apple and threw it at the back of Lee's head who spun on his heel and caught it grinning and taking his seat next to Naruto biting into it leaning against the blonde as he munched on the sweet fruit.

"So Gaara, what are we doing today?" Naruto asked with a sunny smile.

"I wanted to ask you both a question." Gaara said very slowly.

"Sure what do you wanna know?" Naruto asked

"Would you both kiss me?" Gaara said without any emotion at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Awkward

It took a few moments for the two shinobi on the other side of the Kazekage's desk to fully register what Gaara had just asked them, with no emotion behind it what so ever. As always with such things Naruto was the first of the two to recover the ability to speak.

"Whaaaat!" he shouted, big blue eyes opened wide with disbelief. This outburst seem to knock some sense into Lee who had until now simply turned beat red and unmoving since the request had come forth.

"G-Gaara-kun that's not something you normally just come out and ask your friends…" Lee tried to explain working hard to keep the shocked stutter from his voice. Meanwhile it was Naruto's turn to go still, eyes still locked on the now confused face of the Kazekage.

"Why not? How else would one expect to receive one?" Gaara might now be about as normal as he was ever likely to get but that didn't mean the sunning he had received as a child had not still had its effect of his adult life.

He was still painfully unaware of personal space and what should and should not be spoken about in public. Other peoples discomfort was wasted on someone who themselves felt no discomfort at all, because he didn't understand the idea of embarrassment let alone feel it.

"Kissing is something people who are in love do and it's kind of…erm…implied. They don't tend to ask each other for it." Lee explained while Naruto slowly leaned back in his chair.

"Then I should have just kissed you both without asking first." Gaara said still with no inflection of emotion.

Again dumfounded silence reigned over the room as the two leaf shinobi again tried to process the impossible. Two thoughts occurred to them, one thought was that given Lee's description of why asking for a kiss was bad, Gaara must think he was in love with them both, and the second was that this had happened overnight.

"Gaara…why do you want to kiss us?" Naruto asked very slowly.

"Because I love you both and you both have given me tokens of your love in return. Temari said that people who love each other kiss and do other such things because they become a couple. Now that we are all together we should indulge in such activities." Gaara said.

Naruto just leaned back in his chair. He really wasn't cut out for this sort of thing, Lee was the one who explained things and stayed calm, although by the look of that blush now creeping its way down his neck he might not be totally thinking straight right now either

"Gaara-kun, you say you are in love with us. How have you come to this conclusion?" Lee asked.

Gaara looked from one to the other of them for a moment, eyes studying their features with great depth before finally he turned to Lee and started to explain his thought processes.

"You are strong and resilient, I hurt you and tried to kill you yet you continue to treat me as if I am a normal human being. You smile at me and that makes me feel strange inside and your face is very appealing to me." He turned to Naruto, "We have much in common with each other, and we are in many ways like the same person except you have grown stronger than I ever did. You are not afraid of me and that makes me feel warm when you are around me. Your general behaviour is amusing to me as much as it is confusing and also your face and body are appealing shapes. This is love correct?"

Lee watched Gaara and so did Naruto, both of them seemed to be thinking the same thing as the other. Yes that did sound a lot like the beginnings of a crush on someone, it was normal of course to find more than one person attractive, but to claim to be in love with two people at once was not very normal.

"Gaara…this is a bit…erm… I think we need to talk about this between us…me and Lee…for a bit." Naruto said.

"Very well I have a lot of work to be getting on with. Don't let me detain you." Gaara looked back to the scroll and unrolled it. This was once again said with no emotional inflection at all and if it wasn't for the fact that the two leaf Ninja knew him so well they might have thought he was upset, however because they did know him so well they knew he meant just that, he was busy and they could discuss this later.

Standing they walked to the door and stood in the corridor staring at the wall for a few seconds before they turned to head back down the corridor so that they could go back to their room. As they were walking away they noticed the look on the guards faces outside Gaara's door. They looked very very disturbed, they discovered later that the door of the Kazekage's office was not very soundproof.

~X~

It was some time later back in their room that Naruto and Lee sat on their beds looking at each other not saying a word, simply last in thought about exactly what to do about the problem they had run into, namely Gaara and his social ineptitude.

Finally Lee broke the silence.

"Naruto-kun do you think Gaara-kun has ever been given the talk?"

"He was raised to be a weapon then thought he was a monster that lived for killing…I don't think they thought he would be having a meaningful relationship with someone." Naruto said.

"So that's a no then. Maybe we should talk to Temari about it?" Lee suggested. The look on Naruto's face spelled out exactly what sort of bad idea that was. "Or Kankuro?"

Naruto thought about that one for a second or two. Kankuro wasn't exactly the most straight faced of people when it came to awkward situations, normally he would just sit back and laugh at the people involved and watch the entertainment with a smile till something else occupied his interest.

On the other hand this was his little brother and after Gaara started to regain some sense of normality Kankuro has found the big brother instincts inside himself and protected his little brother far more than he protected his Kazekage.

"I think that's the only thing we can do." Naruto said "Then I'll take you out on that date."

Lee smiled, if it wasn't for the fact that Gaara was now in the picture he probably would have treated Naruto to a little kiss, but he felt that until they had sorted out this mess it was probably a good idea to keep things platonic between them. At least he could say that Naruto liked him and that he liked Naruto in the same way.

Standing they headed for the door and off to find the puppet master

~X~

Kankuro was at the family home, it turned out that it was actually his day off, and like most of his days off he spent it in his work shop fiddling with his puppets currently there was something wrong with one of the gears in Crows head and he was trying without much avail to fix it.

The knock on the door made him scowl as he turned in his seat. Standing he padded out of his workshop and to the front door. Throwing it open he was about to let fly a tirade of abuse, because everyone with half a brain in Suna new that you didn't disturb Kankuro before five on his day off, when he stopped seeing who it was.

"What's wrong?" he asked simply.

"We need to talk about Gaara." Naruto said and as he expected the door was opened wide and they marched past the kabuki and into the house. Taking their shoes off and walking into the front room they sat on the couch while Kankuro sat across from them his face sombre.

"What about Gaara?" His voice was more serious than they had ever heard him.

"He thinks he is love with us." Lee said recognising that Kankuro might not be in the mood subtlety right now.

Kankuro blinked, then after a short pose, cracked up into nearly uncontrollable laughter, clutching his sides and throwing his head back against the couch. Naruto and Lee sat there with the same unimpressed look on their faces, which only caused the man in front of them to laugh harder.

When the man had finally recovered into spurts of chuckles he managed a not very convincing apology.

"I sorry…how and when did this happen?" he cracked up into another bout of chuckling

"We were in his office and he asked us to kiss him." Naruto said bluntly, this just ushered in a fresh laughing fit from Kankuro and a huffing fit from Naruto.

Ten minutes later and Kankuro was finally ready to talk about it seriously. He listened to the boys as they described what had happened in Gaara's office and what they had said to the Kazekage. He nodded at their confusion sharing in it. When they got to the point where Gaara had mentioned something Temari said Kankuro faceplamed.

"I told her not to fill his head with that rubbish. I'll talk to him later and sort this mess out, Thanks for coming and telling me about it. Last thing we need is Gaara thinking he is heartbroken."

Naruto and Lee stood up and thanked Kankuro before heading to the door. As they got back to the room they shared they headed off into the bathroom to grab a shower before they went out to eat. Had they been less relieved and been paying more attention they might have noticed sand eye sitting on one of the selves in the bathroom watching them closely.


End file.
